Admirer from Hell
by Ho-Ho-Noa
Summary: A powerful demon has an obsession on Roronoa Zoro and took him away from the Straw hat crew. Separated by different worlds, Zoro and Sanji began to realize the feelings they got for each other. SanxZo, OCxZo
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Demon emerged**

"_WHAAT_?? He's _nowhere_ to be found? Where the hell did he go?" Sanji shouted in anger.

"I've looked everywhere in the Going Merry, but I didn't find him."Luffy reported.

"Yeah, I didn't see him since I woke up either." Usopp added.

"I last saw him walked to the kitchen at about three o'clock this morning, on my night watch." Sanji said.

"What's wrong everyone?" Nami was just came in to the kitchen Robin and Chopper followed.

"Have you seen Zoro since this morning? We're looking for him." Luffy asked.

"No, I haven't. I thought he's on the crow's nest or in the men's quarter all the time." Nami answered.

"So did I. I didn't really pay attention 'cause he didn't do his usual activities lately." Robin explained.

"I kinda avoided him 'coz I thought he needed some time alone. He was grumpy lately." Chopper told them.

"Yeah, me too. But he didn't join us for breakfast, and don't show up at lunch. That's strange!" Usopp commented.

"Did he probably take a walk to the town and got lost again?" Luffy suggested.

"And went out without informing us? I don't think he'd do that." Nami commented.

"If neither of us have seen him since that, then … he's missing! It's nearly sunset!" Sanji concluded in somewhat panic tone.

"Alright! I'll go search him now!" Luffy said suddenly, he ran out from the kitchen and stretching his rubber arm reaching for a coconut tree far from the ship. He was using his devil fruit's ability to flung himself there.

"Hey wait up Luffy! I'm comin' with y-!"Usopp said while he quickly grabbed onto him, the two had already gone from the ship when Nami shouted at them angrily.

"HEY!! We must discuss what to do next first!"

"Idiots!!" She grumbled in frustration.

"Well I agree with the captain, we better form a search team to find Mr. Swordsman in the nearest area on this island." Robin commented with a soft giggles caused by the situation occurred previously.

Nami sighed at her idiot nakamas.

"Ok, then we must search in any area nearby, the beach, the town, and other possible area. Each team contains two crews to search in these places. Since we only consist in three teams, we should search in turn. The team not assigned should stay and guard the ship." Nami began.

"I'll go with Robin, Sanji, you stay here with Chopper! We will gather here at dinner and report our progress. You two can search to the town after we came back. Any question?" She ended her orders.

"Yeah, um.. what can we do while we're here? I'm so worried about Zoro, I couldn't just stay and do nothing!" Chopper peeped in panic.

"Don't worry Chopper, you can search any clue here, that could be very helpful!" Nami cheered him up.

"Yeah, that bastard doesn't easily get killed. You don't have to worry too m-" The cook's sentence was interrupted by another voice.

"HEEEYY GUUUUYS! I found sooomethiiing!" Luffy yelled from the deck.

"Luffy? He came back already?" Sanji sounded more annoyed than surprised.

The four of them walked out to found Usopp and their captain were standing there with two weird strangers. A young girl and an old woman. They had dark skin and light hair, and they wore animal skin as their clothes.

"Who are _they_?! Don't you dare say you've asked them to join our crew!!" Nami started to protest.

"Hey!! We don't want to join your freaky pirate crew!!" One of the strangers protested. She was about the same age as Luffy, had a loud voice and a boyish look.

"Mademoiselle! Welcome aboard!" Sanji shouted immediately, while dancing like an idiot to the girl. His eyes turned to heart shapes.

"Huuhh? So you're a girl?" Luffy and Usopp asked foolishly. "We thought you're a pretty boy!"

"Oh? Thank you!" She smiled shy fully.

"Hey! That's not a compliment!" Usopp and Luffy said at the same time. Sweat drops appeared on everyone's heads.

"Excuse me strangers, my name is Mahemi and she's Sava, my granddaughter. I see that one of your friends is missing, we come to help you." The old woman finally said.

"Really? Why should we trust you?" Nami asked suspiciously.

"Because you don't have any choice. Your friend is in danger, you're running out of time." The old woman retorted.

"Do you know who did it?" Luffy asked eagerly.

"Yes, I believe your friend had been taken by a powerful demon, Baalbisan." She replied in somewhat low creepy voice.

"_WHAATTT?? !!_" The crew screamed in unison.

"_D-D-Demon_??" Usopp added in terrified face.

"I've had dreams since these past few days that a powerful creature appeared in this part of the island. I felt his strong evil presence. It was him. I was shocked at first, a creature with this power rarely came to this world by their own. He sends his underlings to do his businesses with humans instead. He must be very special, your friend, the dark lord came and took him by himself. Me and my granddaughter tried to warn you all, but it took two and a half days to get here. By the time we arrived, I knew it was too late." The old woman said in regret.

"Why did he want to kidnap Zoro? He's not good to eat anyway, his flesh is too tough!" Luffy asked, confused. He imagined the green haired man being served in a huge plate with vegetables and an apple in his mouth.

"Yuck!" He commented with his tongue out.

"You idiot! Eating is the only thing you can think about isn't it?" Sanji and Nami yelled.

"Demons love to terrorize and enslave humankind. They also kidnap humans for their own entertainment." Mahemi explained.

"entertainment?" Chopper asked, his eyes widened in horror.

"Yes, they'll terrorize, torture, and worst; steal our soul to satisfy them. Some of them were also known for taking human for mating. " Sava explained. "Baalbisan is one of them."

"M-Mating?" Sanji murmured unconsciously.

"That demon is _a male _right? Why would he want to mate with Zoro? Two males can't make babies! … can they?" Luffy asked bluntly with serious face.

"_STUPID_!!" everyone shouted.

"No, Luffy. Two males can't possibly produce any offspring." Chopper said. He felt the urge to teach his stupid captain about basic knowledge of human reproduction as the doctor of the ship.

"Actually, demons can change shapes into almost anything they wanted, so they can switch gender easily." Sava said. "I think he prefer men to women though, the last person he kidnapped was also a man."

"So that transsexual fucking perverted demon is _GAY_?? " The cook almost shouted furiously.

"Whoa, calm yourself down, man! What's with you and the gays anyway?" Usopp tried to calm him down.

"N-Nothing! ... I just hate them!" The cook quickly replied. He hoped no one realized his face had turned pale.

"That's horrible! None of those human ever be seen again?" Nami asked in horror.

"No. There's no way out once you've been taken to his lair. Your friend can do nothing. His life energy and soul will soon be absorbed by this demon and his wicked place. You are his only hope."

"Tell me how to beat this demon!" Luffy said. He had heard enough, he won't let anyone hurt one of his nakama!

"There's only one way to defeat him. Follow me!" The old woman said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 : The Warning**

Zoro was acting different lately, everyone in the crew noticed it but did nothing because they knew how Zoro was. He kept almost all his feelings or thoughts to himself and like to leave it that way. If he didn't feel like talking about it, then the others were better not to mention about it either. One day however, Luffy came straight to him searching for an answer, ignoring warnings from the others. To everyone's surprise, Luffy managed to make the green haired man speak somehow. Maybe it's because Luffy was the closest person in the crew to him, or simply because the captain's innocence and stubbornness. After a long pause, finally Zoro said he had a feeling of being watched lately. When the others heard it, they were all silent for a moment then started to speak up at the same time.

"WHAT?! S-S-Someone's watching US?!" Usopp asked in frightened voice.

"WHAAAACCHH!!" W-Who??" Chopper added, screamed in horror.

"HUHH?!" Sanji said.

"He said WHAT, Luffy??" Nami almost screamed

"Uh-huh. Isn't that weird? Ha ha ha…" The captain's laughing was stopped suddenly by a nice punch in his face. "OOuuuch!! That's hurt! What's that for?!" he protested.

"YOU MORON!! It's a serious situation here!! What if he was right? That someone's been watching us?"Nami shivered a little by the thought.

"Y-You think it's true??" Chopper, the little reindeer ran immediately to hide himself behind Usopp.

"Who could that be? The marines? Why don't they just attack us?" Luffy asked.

"It could be some professional bounty hunters, they finally came to take Captain Usopp's head!!" Usopp exhaled deeply as if he was ready to meet his glorious death. As usual, everyone ignored him.

"Maybe they are waiting for the right moment to attack us. But why did no one notice it except Zoro?" Nami wondered.

"Baahh … maybe it's just his imagination. You never know what was running in his stupid mind." Sanji commented.

"I don't know … Zoro's very cautious." Chopper said.

"By the way, I haven't seen Mr. Swordsman slept on the deck since we arrived in this island. He looked restless all the time." Robin finally spoke.

"That idiot often woke up at the middle of the night too this past few days … how strange…" Sanji was a light sleeper, that's why he usually knew what happened in the men quarter at night.

"Zoro couldn't sleep because of that?! It's almost sounds like he was … scared…" Nami said in curiosity.

"Zoro's scared?? But … he never scared!!" Chopper denied.

"Yeah!! That's impossible!" Luffy cooed.

"It's a serious situation then. Mr. Swordsman wasn't easily felt anxious about something. I think we should be more careful until we set sail again." Robin stated.

"I agree Robin-cwan!! Although I'm not sure that marimo wasn't easily scared of something…" The cook kept the remaining information to himself.

"You know … I guess I got the feeling of being watched too… I'm not scared though." Usopp said that with the bravest voice he could muster but his knees were shaking badly.

" … You're shaking Usopp!" Nami said with a sweat drop appeared on her head.

It was half past midnight when their little meeting ended, everyone was headed toward their beds except Sanji. It was his turn to take a night watch. He made his way quietly to the crow's nest. It was quiet dark, there was no moon and stars in the sky that night. After he climbed to the top, his eyes found a pile of fabric on one spot, a grey-dull blanket. It was Zoro's.

"_He must have been forgotten to take it down after his shift yesterday." _Sanji thought.

"_It is as unattractive as the owner, boring … dull… and worn out,_

_yet something about it makes me keep looking at it … GHAAHHH!! what's wrong with me??_"

The cook tried to turn his attention at the sea or at the deck below, it worked for a moment or two but he still couldn't resist his curiosity towards the blanket on his side, now that no one's around.

"_It looks pretty soft, maybe 'coz he often use it."_

"_I wonder how does it smell like? Does it smell like him?" _

"_I guess it's smell like iron or something, he's always smell like that… wait, actually I never really knew his scent but I imagined it might smell terrible, judging from his habits… sweat and drool. I'm not going to touch it, no way!"_

The cook had already sat there, with his back leaned on the main pole and arms surrounding his legs, for about two hours and he had run out of cigar. His body began to shiver as the temperature dropped nearly ten degrees.

"_Maybe I should wear the ugly blanket over there, it could warm me enough. Besides, nobody's watching."_ He thought to himself as he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his body.

Sanji wasn't surprised that the ugly blanket was indeed smell just like what he had imagined, but it radiated the scents in soft-soothing way, almost delicate, it also felt warm and soft on his open skin. His freezing body felt very comfortable now.

"_I never thought that bastard had a pretty nice body odor, hmm … Is this how it felt to be hugged by him? HEY!... WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING?! I guess my mind doesn't work right in freezing temperature. Shit!"_

The cook blushed furiously by his own thoughts.

Yet the scents and the warmth from the blanket made his imaginations grew even more as he swept away by drowsiness. He suddenly realized that he wasn't alone in the crow's nest, there was someone else. It was dark, but he knew it was a guy. He sat in front of him and he didn't know how long he has been there. He had a strong muscular body but long and graceful at the same time. He was very close to him in fact, his arms was holding the cook tightly. Sanji felt his cheeks blushed caused by their position and he could feel the warmth radiating from his well defined body and his hot breaths in his face. He was staring at Sanji with his piercing eyes, made him numb. His pleasant male scent roaming all over the cook's lungs made him overwhelmed by it. He whispered something to the blonde's ear, but the cook could only hear his own breath and the sound of soft wind. He felt slightly aroused by the skin contact their cheeks made. His skin felt so soft. Then he felt the man's lips was brushing his jaw line and made its way to Sanji's lips. His skin was suddenly burning. The muscular man looked so inviting as his nice lips' curve parted. The cook felt like he could faint anytime now. Then the man stopped suddenly. Wanting more, the cook moved closer unconsciously, raise his shaking hands to touch his face and feel his lips. He wanted it. He needed it badly. Then his right hand felt something cold and hard in his ear, it felt like metal. He was wearing earrings on his left ear. The erotic sensations suddenly vanished into thin air as the cook recognized the face of the man he was holding, along with his short green hair, earrings, and his cocky grin.

"_It was YOU??B-BASTARD!! You …"_ Sanji wanted to scream angrily, he felt his face went crimson red in embarrassment. Suddenly he heard a small thud voices, almost like a heartbeat, came from the distant. It was soft at first, and then the voices got louder until the cook woke up from his slumber. The green haired man disappeared as soon as he opened his eyes. It was just a dream.

"_Damn! I was overslept!!"_

He felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. He was glad that those embarrassing moment didn't really happen, but deep in his heart he didn't want it to end.

The voices he heard earlier were footsteps from the deck. The blonde moved clumsily, trying to stand and take a peek from his post. It's Zoro. He could tell from the broad shoulder and heavy steps that the figure had. His face was blushing again remembering what had happened a minute ago. His mind couldn't stop thinking about the green haired man and his body in that dream. It felt so real. It felt so good. But the reality quickly stroked him like lightning, reminding the poor relation they both actually had. The real world was way much crueler.

"_Damn him! Why did he have to show up and spoiled my precious dream?! … "_

The green haired man was walking toward the kitchen, probably to get a glass of water. He moved nervously, but Sanji couldn't see his face.

"… _Does he had a nightmare again? I've never seen he had a nightmare before this. What's the matter with him lately? I really hope he's fine."_

The cook wanted to ask him whether he was feeling ok, but he canceled it due to his embarrassing state, face still blushing with pervert thoughts.

"_I'll just ask him in the morning, when my mind's in good shape." _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 : A Proposition**

The first thing Zoro felt was a heavy headache attacking his head. Then a terrible pain grew all over his body until it reached his fingertips, it was as if he had been hit by a giant. His whole body felt limp. He growled and opened his eyes, but it was all dark and blurry. He blinked for a moment to let his eyes get used to the darkness.

" … _Where the hell is it?" _

He tried to recall his last memory, but it was useless, he can't remember a thing. The heavy nausea made his mind couldn't work. He moved his body into a sit position, one of his hand was supporting his body to stand against the cold floor while the other held his head, cursing the pain he suffered. He tried to recognize the surroundings. It took several minutes for him to realize that he was in a large dark marble hall. He wasn't sure though, since he couldn't see farther than ten feet from where he was.

"… _A marble hall? … How can I end up here?"_

"Aaahh, you're finally awake. Welcome to my domain Roronoa Zoro." A deep thundering voice spoke from the darkness. It made him startled a bit. There was something about this voice that made him shivered.

" … Who are you? How did I get here?" The swordsman asked, impatient. He had so many questions in his head.

"I am your host, you can call me Lord Baalbisan. It didn't matter how you end up here, because from now on you're going to stay here as my slave."The intimidating voice replied.

"Bold words you got there. But you're wrong if you think you can hold me here." The green haired man threatened in calm tone.

"You dare threatened me? HAAHAHAAHAHAAA!! That's why I like you Roronoa, you always intimidating even if the situation isn't on your side. You have no doubts kill whoever dares blocking your path. You really are a beast!" The voice commented, his laughter echoed throughout the chamber.

" Hmph, It took courage to talk about me the way you did. But since you didn't even dare to show yourself that makes you more of a coward than I thought!" He snapped.

There was no answer. The large stone chamber was filled with long creepy silence. The swordsman narrowed his eyes and listened carefully, hoping to find a clue of his capturer whereabouts.

"What now? Still lack of courage to show up in front of your _slave_?" He taunted his opponent to walk out from the shadows.

"Oh, don't waste your brave words too much young man! You'll need all you had left to face me soon!"

Then he saw a pair of red glowing evil eyes appeared from a few feet away. Memories were suddenly flashed back in his head, made him unable to breathe. It was the same wicked fiery glow that haunted him in his dreams lately, made him restless all the time. All colors were drained from his face as the terrible dreams reappeared in his mind. He was running through a dark forest as fast as he could, trying to escape from something. He couldn't figure out what was chasing him, but he knew he must get away from it. His was wet with sweat and he breathed heavily from the exhaustion and fear. Even though he already fled as far as he could, he knew the creature was still somewhere near, watching him from the shadows, trying to snatch him. The Swordsman was rarely scared by something, but he was totally freaked out in his dream. His heart was pounding so hard, he thought it was about to jump out from his chest. He could hear its claws were reaching for him no matter how fast he ran. Then suddenly he heard a growl from his side, before he could react, something push him violently to the opposite side. He crashed his body to the nearest tree trunk, broke his hand and finally falls. His head was landed on a solid rock. Warm blood flow down on his face. His vision blurred and he could barely move. The physical pain he suffered was no match for the desperation and fear he felt. A cold wind blew toward him, freezing his bones. A monstrous figure came out from the mists, a pair of red evil eyes were staring hungrily at him. The sight sent tremendous shivers to his very core. Then the frightening creature suddenly pounced, feeding on him. He could only screamed painfully while his body was being ripped apart. He woke up with the same sweat and horror. The nightmare kept coming every time he slept. He even felt an eerie feeling of being watched in his consciousness. The whole thing was driving him nuts!

"It … It can't be! … You can't be _real_!!" He gasped.

"Now now, a fearless man like you shouldn't say those miserable words the cowards would say wouldn't you?" The terrifying voice had now turned to low tempting female voice.

A female creature came out of the shadows, she had a seducing female body shape with thick red scale and large dragon-like wings on her back. She had long dark red claws and a scaled tail. The she-creature was approaching him with slow tempting steps. Being a prominent fighter he was, Zoro constantly gain his composure and think his next steps rationally. He would not give up without a fight, no, he's Roronoa Zoro The Pirate Hunter, he would rather die than surrendered to his enemy! His right hand reached for his swords but they were no longer hanging on his waist like they used to or anywhere near him. He already presumed that. He was learning his opponent carefully. In front of him was a powerful creature with an ability to manipulate things by his magic. He was in the creature's domain, unable to detect the surroundings clearly and without any weapon, which was a huge detriment on his side. So he continued to the next possible step. The demon stopped, she realized that the green haired man was about to ask something from her.

"If I'm going to be your slave, then you should prove yourself worthy of it. I won't kneel to someone I don't respect." He started.

"What are you trying to say human?" The demon asked curiously.

"Give me back my swords and a change to fight you properly! If I win, you must promise to release me immediately." He said it although he didn't put much faith in her upon keeping her words. But his main goal was to get himself a fair fight, he would kill the creature once he beat her anyway.

"… and if you lose?" She narrowed her fiery eyes in suspicion.

"I will take an oath to be your loyal slave and obey anything you want me to do. You have my words." He answered.

"Quiet an interesting offer you got there. Unfortunately, you're in no position to propose something here. You already _are_ my slave and I can do anything I want whether you will it or not!"

"… How disappointing. I should've guessed that one's coming. No one could expect a fair deal with demons!" He snorted. "You better show your best shot 'coz I won't let anyone took my pride without a fight."

"If you insist…" The devil grinned in satisfaction, showing her disgusting sharp teeth. Her glowing eyes were gazing at him intently.

"_This is it…"_ He thought.

"Be prepared, human! Because I'm going to show you what _FEAR _is! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!" The demon mocked him in high wicked laughter.

Zoro gulped nervously while he prepared himself for any sudden attack, a cold sweat flowed down on his forehead. He was just challenging this powerful cunning demon to attack him in his unfair state. But he didn't regret it. At least he would've fought her the best he could before he died.


	4. Chapter 4

**Horaaaay! Here goes chapter 4! **Big thanks to my beta who makes this thing neat and readable, endsoftime, you're great! Anyway, this chapter tells the strawhats side of the story in an attempt to help Zoro. Hope you like it!

* * *

**Chapter 4 : The Last of the Azarines**

It was around dinner when the Straw Hat crew and their two guides stopped to restock in the nearest village. Mahemi told them to set the tents up in the wooded outskirts, because she didn't want to attract any unwanted attention from the villagers. Sava and Chopper gathered some dry wood from the forest nearby while the others set up two separate tents for the girls and unpacked their bags. Everyone gathered around the fire pit in the middle of their camp, as Sanji cooked delicious barbeques from the deer meat and imported pineapples they'd bought earlier at the village market.

"Wow, you're a great cook! I really like this…whatever it is!" Sava commented with her mouth full of meat.

"It's called 'Barbeque', Sava-chan. It's nothing really, compared to a beauty like you," he said, grinning through a cloud of hearts. "And please call me 'Sanji'!"

"So Oba-chan, why do we have to go to your village? Is the demon's place close?" Luffy couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer.

"No, none of us can reach his domain by merely walking. Baalbisan's lair lies in the cursed Demon Realm; a nether-world just below our own. Our clan possesses the ancient knowledge passed down from our ancestors about a sacred ritual that enables a human to walk across to the other world," the old woman answered.

"Where are your manners Luffy? We haven't introduced ourselves yet!" said Nami suddenly, apparently having put her suspicions aside.

"Oh, right. I'm Luffy, she's Nami, that's Usopp, Robin, Chopper and Sanji," he said, pointing in turn.

"Well, nice to meet you all. If only we had met under better circumstances," said Mahemi wearily.

"What kind of ritual are you talking about?" The cook put a cigarette between his lips and lit it.

"The Ritual of Separation," the old woman began. "The soul is separated from the body to break its bond with material world. Then the soul will be able to transcend to another realm."

Usopp's face went pale. "You mean we'll have to be … _dead_?!"

"Oh, no! It's just temporary, kind of like a coma," Sava explained, sagely. "I went through my first trial two months ago, in fact. I was nervous at first, but it flowed along easily enough." The young girl puffed her chest out, obviously proud of herself.

"Isn't that dangerous, though? A lot of people don't wake up from comas!" Chopper squeaked nervously.

The old woman gave him a warm smile, trying to calm the little reindeer down. "It's a different kind of coma. The spirit is totally lost in the coma state you speak of; drifting aimlessly between our world and another because it has left the body in unconsciousness. However, in the Ritual of Separation the soul leaves the body with full awareness; therefore it has the opportunity to travel where it will through the spirit world, and still return to the body."

Luffy's head cocked slightly to the left, his mouth an exaggerated 'O' shape. He was trying very hard to understand all this, because he knew it was important, probably, but he still wasn't sure he got it yet. "Sooo…was Zoro's soul-thingy separated from his body, too?" he finally asked.

"I don't think so," Mahemi said. "The spirit form cannot be physically touched, which would defeat the demon's obvious purpose for capturing him. I'm sure your friend has been taken along with his body, which means that Baalbisan has found another way to bring him to the Demon Realm."

Sanji's eyes twitched at the unpleasant thoughts conjured by the woman's words. A disturbing scene played out in his mind: Zoro being pinned to the floor while the perverted demon tore his clothes off, his filthy hands touching the bronze skin greedily. The cook gritted his teeth tightly, furious, and horribly embarrassed as he suddenly realized how badly he wanted his own hands on the swordsman's body.

"Another way? I don't understand," Nami said. The navigator's voice snapped Sanji out of his daydream, returning him to the problem at hand.

"Our world lies very close to the Demon Realm; in fact, it is connected to all realms and worlds. The only thing separating them is a dimensional wall. And like a wall, it has certain fragile spots, and these cracks create a portal to other worlds. Baalbisan must have found one of these 'cracks.'"

"Hmmm…" Robin lulled. "This knowledge is quite new to me. Could you tell me more about your clan? I've heard very little of them." Her calm voice belied the excitement and curiosity plain in her eyes.

Mahemi nodded. "A long time ago, a union of powerful psychics and shamans was formed to fight the growing evil power that had dominated this land, spreading their terrors to humankind. They called themselves the Azarines. They climbed to the peak of Ilvest Mountain, the highest point on the island, and marched on the gate to the Underworld, to challenge the demons. The demons scoffed at their small, pathetic troops, but took the challenge regardless. They underestimated the clan's determination, and failed to notice that a small number of Azarine spies had slipped past their guard and entered the Underworld in an attempt to find the demons' weakness: their true names. The great battle turned into a bloody slaughter as the demons killed the Azarines one by one; they were outnumbered. But just when all hope seemed lost, the Azarine spies returned with the demons' names and immediately performed a binding ritual. The Greater demons were bound and banished while their minions fled. The battle finally came to an end. The few Azarines left sealed the gate to the Underworld and vowed to protect humankind from the terror of the demons, honoring the will of their fallen comrades. They built a village on the slope of the mountain, hidden in the craggy ridges, to guard over the gate. They have since been forgotten by the outside world. Sava and I are their descendants; the last of the Azarines."

"WOW! What a cool story! It's almost sounds like a myth!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, his eyes glowing in amusement.

"Only it really happened! Oh, it's so glorious and saaaaad!! I love it sooooo muuuuch!!" Usopp and Chopper shouted with tears flowing from their wide, wobbly eyes.

"That's the beauty of history," Robin said, smiling serenely. Sanji and Nami grinned too.

A silence fell for a moment, all of them lost in their own thoughts and imaginings.

"So, when are we gonna reach this Azarine village, Mahemi-oba-chan?" Luffy finally broke the silence.

"If the weather's fine, we'll reach it by about noon, three days from now. But it will be a dangerous journey; the mountain is very unpredictable. Paths change course, rivers run the wrong direction, trees spring up where none were before. It is no easy task," she replied.

"How're we going to reach the village in time, then?" Nami asked.

"Don't worry my child. Sava and I both have a magic crystal to guide us towards the heart of our village. It will show us the true path to the Azarine village." She pulled a thin, leather strap that hung around her neck, revealing a small crystal, softly glowing green.

"Oh, and one more thing: you all had better buy some warm, thick coats at our next stop tomorrow. Temperatures are freezing on the Ilvest mountain."

* * *

Three days had passed with little occurrence, other than the obligatory rocks, dead trees, snow, and crumbling terrain as the Strawhat crew climbed ever higher up the mountain. The sun hadn't yet awakened from its slumber; the cold was hardly bearable even though they wore thick animal coats. The temperature continued to drop, while the winds blew harsher. The gales howled by, kicking up thick sheets of snow, uncovering and then recovering the path, and the Strawhats were pretty sure they were good and lost, when Mahemi suddenly stopped and turned to the weary, frost-bitten pirates.

"Welcome to Azarine Village everyone!" The old woman raised her arms, and guided them to a flat area covered in snow.

"What?! B-But there's _nothing_ here!" Usopp yelled back in total confusion.

"Of course there is, you just haven't seen it yet!" she replied, smiling at their shocked face.

She crouched down and brushed some snow around with her feet, before stooping and tugging a rope from under the thick snow. Mahemi pulled as hard as she could, but the wooden door wouldn't move. Her old bones creaked in pain. Sava quickly ran to help her; the Straw Hat crew merely watched, intrigued.

"How dare you just watch as an old woman breaks her back! Get over here and make yourselves useful!" Mahemi reprimanded.

"Oh" they all muttered, blinking stupidly before moseying over to obey the old woman's order.

The heavy trap door opened widely in no time. In fact, Luffy nearly ripped it off its hinges in his…determination. A stone ladder was revealed, descending into the darkness of the earth.

"Whooaa! You never told us your village was underground!" Sanji exclaimed.

"SUUUGOOOOOIIIIIIIII!!" Luffy howled, stars sparkling in his eyes.

"Soooo coooool!!" Usopp and Chopper bounced in excitement.

Sanji and Chopper closed the door behind them while the others disappeared one by one down into the open hatch. Luffy and Usopp were already ahead of them, running down the stone ladder at break-neck speed, whooping and laughing.

* * *

So, what do you think? Please review and let me know.

**Spoiler: **

Next chapter will tell about Zoro and his struggles in the clutch of the perverted demon lord! Oh, I know most of you have been waiting for this one!

PS: There I've edited the word 'Sugei' to 'Sugoi'. Sorry for the mistake folks and thanks for the correction!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone, sorry it took so long to post this chapter but it's a double update so you'll forgive me right? To all of you who like ZoroxSanji pairing, I hope this chapter will entertain you. I also changed the rating since the content in chapter 6 might be disturbing for some readers. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5 : A Deal With the Demon**

The swordsman stood still, watching the demon's eyes carefully, trying to guess her next move. His muscles tensed and he could hear his own veins pulsing rapidly. The demon returned his gaze with her unreadable fiery eyes. A smirk grew slowly in her face, as a cunning plan appeared in her head; moved backwards, she soon covered in the darkness.

"What th- _Shit_!" Zoro cursed, realizing her intention to take advantage of the situation. She could attack him from any directions now. He grunted for his misfortune, decided to depend on his hearing and closed his eyes. His vision was almost useless in this surrounding.

"I don't think that would help you." A wicked voice whispered in his ear. He almost stumbled on his own feet while he was trying to back off. His now widened open eyes scanned his surroundings cautiously but find nothing. A playful chuckle was heard from a distance. "I'm here, darling!" another whisper startled the green haired man, making him flinched slightly. "(chuckles) Do you have any idea how your face look like?" the annoying whispers kept bothering in his ear but still, he couldn't find her anywhere.

"_How did she do that?" _He cursed, turning his head around in frustration as he realized the demon had dragged him into a little hide-and-seek game. "_She's fooling me around! That damn bitch! She'll pay for not taking me seriously!"_

"Here, big boy!" "Come and get me" "hahaha!" her teasing went on and on. "Oh my, (yawn) I'm bored already. Let's make it more interesting, shall we?" Finally the demon said, the whole room was filled with lights in a sudden, as if someone had wiped off all the shadows in it. The massive hall had huge pillars and high ceiling all made from dark marble. The room made him felt so small and intimidated, it looked like it could swallow him easily in one bite. He glared in total confusion because the cursed demon he was looking for was nowhere to be found.

"Hey demon, nothing's interesting as far as I'm concern! You'll have to try harder or it'll make me bored to death!" The swordsman taunted.

He swept the surrounding with his eyes, keeping his guard all the time while moving forward. After a moment of waiting that felt like forever, he glimpsed on something that resembled a door opened wide far ahead of him. "_No way, this is way too easy… unless …"_ As if answering his question, a low rumbling growl came from another direction. The swordsman turned his head slowly to the voice to see a large wolf staring back at him. Other growls came out and suddenly he realized he was surrounded by a pack of large wolves. "_Great! There are a lot of them and they all look very hungry... I better run now!"_ He ran fast to the door and ducked precisely before one of the wolf pounced on his head. He could feel that they were just right behind his back, but he managed to reach the door that looked so huge now that he ran under it. "_That Lazy demon decided to rather have me killed by her pets than did it herself! Bastard!"_ He found a large stairs heading up to another door. He pushed the heavy door open and quickly close it with his back. He pressed his whole body weight against the door to prevent the wolves barging in, but fortunately they didn't. A few minutes later, he started observing the room he was in. It was dim lit and rather cold in there. The only light came from the tall narrow windows on it sides. It looked like there's no one around, the room was empty. Well, almost empty at least, besides the soft sound of wind that strangely a bit sounds like a groan. Wait, it really was a groan! Zoro searched around the room and froze when he found out who's making the sound. Soon he was filled with excitement as he saw a blonde haired man with slender frame curled down the floor, apparently just being beaten. He smirked at his messy appearance.

"Oh, it's you." He said, giving a straight face and trying hard not to sound too delighted. Hey, that's weird! How could he possibly felt so damn happy to see the annoying idiot cook? No way! He was the last person he expects to see, especially in this whole crappy situation. He was annoyed by his own reaction. "_What's wrong with me? It must be the headache I had earlier."_ He tried to reason with himself. He figured that if he saw one of his nakama other than him, he must be delighted too, much more delighted in fact, well, except maybe Usopp and Nami because they would be too freaked out to be here and then Zoro have to silenced them while trying to save their asses too. He finally concluded that it's a normal thing to be slightly happy seeing one of his nakama in this damn cursed place and relieved by the thought.

The blonde raised his head to see the familiar looking face. He was frowning even more at him, as Zoro had expected, and somehow the annoyed look gave him satisfaction. "So, you're beaten by that demon or one of her minions did it?" He asked Sanji who's standing up before him now, smirked annoyingly at his wounded face. "Fuck you!" The cook scowled at the green haired man, walking toward the nearest wall to lean to and shove his hand in his pocket, searching for cigarette. He always needs smoke to calm his nerves. He put a cigarette in his lips and lit it dramatically, just like the way he did it so many times. "Have you seen the others besides us?" Zoro asked, somehow felt a bit relaxed by the smoke scent hanging in the air. "No, unfortunately you are the first one I see around here." The green haired man threw an angry glare at him. "Like I'd enjoy accompanying you!" He barked. "Just where the hell is this place?" The blonde ignored him, sweeping his surrounding with annoyed face. Before the swordsman could open his mouth to answer, something grabbed the blonde's waist from behind. Zoro couldn't figure out what it was, for it merely resembled something long, dark, and slimy. He quickly moved forward, snatched the shocked cook and tried to pull him off of the creature to the opposite direction but whatever the thing was, it resisted and starting to pull the struggling cook. The stone wall behind Sanji mysteriously sucked him as if it was made from thick liquid. The swordsman was dragged along with him as he still holding on the cook's arm. "Let me go, you stupid creature!" The cook shouted, kicking the air in vain. "Oh, _shit!"_ The swordsman terrified, watching the blonde's face and body began to sink beneath the liquid wall. He didn't know what to do or what might be waiting behind the wall, but he knows that he won't let go of his friend, whatever it takes. Unfortunately, the mysterious creature had different opinion in the matter as another long limb attacked Zoro and sent him flying off the wall. He fell hard to the floor, but somehow he stood up in a second later and stormed off towards the creature. The swordsman could only grab the blonde's remaining fingers before it was fully disappeared onto the wall. He was too late. The wall had turned solid as it once was. "_NO!!_" He shouted, punching the wall violently. He failed! Ok, maybe the cook wasn't his favorite nakama, but still he was part of the crew. Besides, the cook was one of the toughest in the crew, so he shouldn't worry that much. Well, it wasn't the worry for the blonde's safety that bothered him though; it was the worry for suffering loss of the man. He didn't know why, but he felt sharp hint of sadness every time he think about losing the annoying cook. He couldn't remember the last time he was worrying about the cook without having this kind of feeling, not that he wasn't worried losing his other nakamas, it's just he felt something different each time he worrying him.

"_Don't die on me, cook! I'm coming!" _

* * *

Zoro scanned the room, trying to find something useful as a weapon. He found long iron bar from the loosened window trellis then headed to the door. The wolves had no longer outside, so he got out and ran through the corridor before the stairs, towards the direction he last seen Sanji being dragged to. It was a huge and long corridor decorated with strange murals on the ceiling and mirrors on both side of the wall that created confusing reflections of the running swordsman. At last he saw another large wooden door in the end of the corridor. The heavy dark door stood threateningly in front of him as if it was daring him to enter. With a long breath he pushed it with considerable amount of force and the door was pushed open slowly. Again, he met with familiar pitch black surrounding. He held the iron bar firmly; ready to engage into any battle, as he moved forward carefully. The swordsman spotted someone in the center of the room as a strand of weak light shone on him. He was tied to a chair, apparently unconscious as his head fell to his chest, the strands of golden blonde hair covered his face.

"Oi cook, are you alright?" Zoro asked him, his voice was slightly above a whisper.

"He's unconscious, sweetie. He can't hear you." Said a female voice.

"You! What did you do to him?"

"He's still alive, if that what you mean. I just knock him off to prevent him doing something stupid. Well, to be honest I'd rather get rid of him, but then again I thought maybe I could put him into a better use."

"Let him go, demon! Or I'll make you!"

"No need to get too excited, young man. Play time is over." She stepped into the light, pulled the blonde's hair and laid a knife on his throat in one grace move. "Now I have a good proposition for you: give me an heir and I'll let him live. What do you say?"

"What? I thought you said you will take my freedom by force, now you try to arrange a deal with me?"

"Oh, you have to forgive my slips earlier. I just couldn't help it. Now back to business; your seeds for his life; isn't that so generous of me?"

"H-how am I supposed to do _that_?" He ignored the cues he already had in mind and asked her anyway, hoping for a denial.

The she-demon chuckled, glaring flirtatiously at him. "Don't play dumb Roronoa, you _know_ what I mean."

Speechless, Zoro gave her the most shocked face he could ever make. He would've accepted it if it was a fight or something like that, wouldn't mind putting his life on the line, but to do sex, it was such an unfamiliar thing to him that he couldn't think something worse. He never purposely thought about it, nor had he done it with anyone before. His strict meditations and heavy trainings always helped focusing on none other than his swordsmanship and his goals. Well, nearly always at least, except sometimes when he had wild dreams or fantasies about certain blonde head.

"You're insane! I'd rather kill myself than do it!" He finally said, fumed with anger.

"Too bad … then I guess he's going to suffer the same fate as yours." She was starting to make a slice move with her hand.

"NO, _WAIT_!!" He shouted. Staring desperately at the blonde, he was struggling to make a decision, despite doubts and fears roaming in his mind. He had to throw away his pride being a _whore_ for saving the cook's life? And not just any kind of fuck-job, he had to do it with a disgusting perverted demon! Clearly the blonde wasn't worth that much … or was he?

"Well?" She pressed the blade a bit harder and a trace of fresh blood flowing down from Sanji's neck.

"… I'll … I'll do it. But you must promise me to spare his life and let him leave."

The red scaled demon grinned. "Deal! I know you will choose the right decision." She said, satisfied with her victory.

Zoro was standing still, heavily shocked by the outcome. What have he done? Was he just agreeing to give the demon a child? Surely it's not as bad as it sounds right? He just had to sleep with her once, it was as simple as that, and then … what will happen next?

"Prepare him." Two pairs of strong rough arm grabbed the green haired man on both side and starting to drag him away.

"Hey, Wait! How about your end of agreement? Release him right now!" Zoro tried to stand his ground while shouting angrily.

"Don't worry darling, I will." It was the last thing he heard before something hard bashed his head and everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning! This chapter contains yaoi!** For those who don't want to contaminate their virgin minds, please leave immediately! But if you don't mind with it well, have a nice seat and enjoy the story!

* * *

**Chapter 6 : The Altar of Love**

Zoro groaned at the pain he felt in the back of the head, drifting slowly into consciousness. He was lying on a soft silk bedding on a wide stone altar, with hands and legs tied firmly to the flat surface. He growled at the sting pain in his wrists as he tried to break loose from the rough ropes holding his hands firmly on each side of his head. After a few more attempts and convinced that the ropes were not affected at all, he sighed in defeat and decided to observe his surroundings. The high altar had the size of a small room, only it was covered with beautiful long red veils instead of walls and ceiling. The see-through veils were fluttering, softly blown by the wind. Big candles in each corner enlightened the top of the altar with its warm yellow glow while smaller candles floating on the quiet water surface surrounding the altar. The large area of dark water created an illusion that it was emerging from the depth of the water, glistening in white-sand shade.

The swordsman wasn't sure, but he had a good guess that he might be in some kind of a large underground cave close to the sea. It was quite dark, but he could vaguely hear echoes of dripping water and the sound of crashing waves. The whole scenery was romantic, but of course he couldn't enjoy it. The rough ropes restraining his hands were a reminder to the unpleasant deal with the demon. He was hoping that somehow his part in the deal had been done when he awoke but as it is, the inconvenience was just about to begin as he heard the rippling water. Someone was swimming towards the altar.

He held his breath and watched the ripples getting closer, veins pulsing wildly as something emerged to the surface below him. He lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. He couldn't get a clear view but the creature had a size and shape of a normal human. The man was getting oddly familiar while he climbed the stairs to the top of the altar.

"… How in the hell?! How did you get _here_?" The green haired man burst out in joy, extremely relieved. He didn't bother to put his nonchalant face as usual towards the other man. The blonde smirked, water were still dripping down his hair. "Thought your stupid ass would need some help, so I stop and come by." he said. The swordsman would never admit it, but those words were the most beautiful thing he ever heard. Sanji walked towards him, bent down to his knees and sat on Zoro's lap. Their faces were only few inches apart. "What are you doing, idiot? Quick, untie me!" The green haired man barked, feeling uncomfortable over their position. "Relax, moron. I'm just trying to have a better look on your face." The cook's answer surprised him instantly; blush was staining in his cheeks. He looked away to hide his reddened face. "You know, I always thought you're too handsome to be a swordsman. Their bodies must be rough and flawed with scars from heavy trainings and deadly battles, but who would ever thought that their routines were just perfecting their appearances, making them looked even sexier…" The blonde continued, running his hand on the long scar in the swordsman's chest. Just then, Zoro realized he had nothing to wear under the sheet of silk covering him, made him blushed even more. Did Sanji realize this from the beginning? The green haired man went numb as the cook leaned down closer. Their faces were so close that each could feel the other's hot breaths on their faces, burning their skins. The tempting atmosphere around them made it harder to resist their rising sexual hormones. "Gimme your lips, swordsman!" The cook whispered an order.

"the hell?! Stop it and untie the ropes! She could be here in any moment!" the swordsman stubbornly held back his secret desires while shouting at the blonde. But he couldn't hold a low moan escape from his mouth as the blonde clutched his crotch and squeeze it gently. The blonde leaned closer and kiss him, biting and sucking his bottom lip with passion. Zoro gasped at the cold wet lips on him, giving the other man an advantage to slip his tongue and explore his mouth cavern. The swordsman froze for a moment before turning his head to one side and broke the kiss. He was breathing heavily, praying that the blonde won't realize his growing erection.

"Why are you doing this?" Agitated, the green haired man asked gruffly. He was avoiding any eye contact with the blonde.

"… Isn't it obvious?" came the soft reply.

Zoro turned his head to face the cook. "Yeah, I figured that out already. You desperately want to _fuck_ me all of a sudden and expect me to serve your needs without asking! I'm not your bitch, you know! Now, _get off of me_ and untie these fucking ropes!"

The cook's blue eyes were staring him for a moment and then said with husky voice. "Hush! you shouldn't go denying yourself too much. You know you want me!"

"_W-What_? You're _nuts_!" Zoro couldn't believe what he just heard. It disturbed him that a small part of his heart said it was true.

The cook grabbed the silk sheet covering Zoro and threw it aside, revealing the perfect muscular body before his lustful eyes. The swordsman stared at the man in horror, realizing the horrible fact that the blonde wasn't joking as he started undoing his clothes. Zoro felt his face was burning red and forced his eyes away from the naked gorgeous body with pale skin that was a perfect match to his graceful frame. The blonde smiled at his shyness and use the change to send butterfly kisses to his jaw and neck, then sucked and bit the swordsman's collar bone while his hand wandering on his well defined chest and hard abs, making a teasing circle move before heading down to clasped his fingers tightly on the hardening cock. Zoro shuddered at the touch and felt his member was getting hard. "I'm _so_ going to _kill _you if you don't st-_Aach!_" His protest was being cut down by a moan when the blonde's mouth sucked his erection fiercely, moving up and down. Quickened his pace, the cook was getting so turn on and bite his cock in purpose. "Oww! _Damn it_!!" Zoro cursed both at the jolting pain and embarrassment, struggling to hold back pleasurable moans. He yanked his hands and legs forcefully to only hurt his wrists and ankles. "Sanji, _STOP_!!" He yelped in shock when he felt a wet finger slipping into his entrance, unconsciously called out the blonde's name, while flinching at the uncomfortable sensation. The cook moved his finger back and forth more intently, pushing it deeper and slipped in one more finger into him, totally ignoring his angry curses. He held Zoro's thick waist and dragged the upper body downward, making the swordsman's knees bent so he could held his thighs wide apart for an easy entrance. "This is going to be hurt, but I'll do it gently." He whispered softly to the swordsman ear, as his throbbing member was screaming to be released, and then he pushed it slowly into his ass. "_NO_, _don't- Uunh!!_" Zoro tilted his head backward and shut his eyes tightly, groaned in pain. "AARGH! _Fuck_!!" He clenched the sheets and writhed violently as the cook pushed deeper, the pain was too much. The blonde kissed his lips lightly to ease his suffering, whispering a gentle hush in his ear. The swordsman's face frowned and twisted, while breathing heavily as he tried to hold back the burning pain in his ass; on the other hand, the blonde was enjoying it, thought that he looked remarkably sexy. Zoro unconsciously began to cease his resistance and followed the rhythm, desperately drifted to the forbidden pleasure; he slowly discovered that the uncomfortable pain was somehow intoxicating, making his body craves for more. He didn't care letting out a moan or two, as long as it still in low voices, assuming that the blonde wouldn't even notice it.

"Unhh … Zoro … you're so-aahh … tight!" The blonde moaned in between while moving back and forth gently, searching the right satisfying spot in the swordsman and started a quicker rhythm when he heard a low pleasurable moan escaping from the man under him. Soon he was slamming hard into Zoro, left the swordsman breathless. His seeds were pouring inside the green haired man as he reached his climax. Zoro almost let out a loud satisfied moan, but he bit his lips tighter, not wanting to give the other man pleasure by hearing him moaned loudly.

Knowing that Zoro hadn't reached his orgasm, the cook moved slowly and stretched his slender legs apart above the green haired man, allowing the other's cock entering his entrance slowly as he descending his hips. Zoro gasped at the amazing sensation, but still refused satisfying the other man by letting out a passionate strong moan. The blonde moved his hips up and down, seems surprisingly not in pain, then, his gentle moves soon replaced by hard thumping ones. His head was moving up and down in pure pleasure while letting out long moans. "…. AAAarghh!! … _Shit!_" Zoro couldn't hold a loud moan escaping his mouth any longer while his orgasm burst out inside the blonde. He could see stars sparkling before his eyes as he exhaled deeply in ultimate pleasure. Exhausted, Sanji collapsed to his side a second later. They were lying quietly for a moment, both sweating and panting, too tired to say a word.

"I'm still going to kill you as soon as I'm freed, you perverted raping cook!" The swordsman's threat was sounded more like a weak flirt than a real threat as anger had evaporated from him, replaced by the strange feel of content.

The cook grinned widely at him "Who says I'm gonna free you? This way, I could fuck you anytime I want. …. and you're way much hotter in this position." His eyes gave flirtatious glint at the blushing swordsman. He crawled closer and laid half his body on top of Zoro, his head was resting on his broad shoulder and his hand lied on his chest. The swordsman wanted to hug him so badly, but his tied hands couldn't move. His heart filled with euphoria and peace at the same time. The kind of feeling he only felt after winning deadly battles. A feeling that appeared every time he knew he was getting one step closer to his goals.

Despite the cold temperature, their bodies felt so cozy and warm against each other. He wished that he could stay this way forever, just the two of them lying together, feeling his body against him. The swordsman felt his eyelids were getting heavier and harder to stay awake. For the first time in his life, he let his guard down completely, carelessly ignoring any danger around him and soon drifted to sleep.

* * *

So, what do you think? The upcoming chapters will be filled with more of ZoroxSanji love! Review please!


	7. Chapter 7

Hello readers! For those of you who had been left clueless by the previous chapter, may find some of the explanations in this chapter as the truth began to unfold. I'm sorry to write such a confusing chapter and maybe too vulgar, but I couldn't hold myself. Haha, I know, I'm a perv! Well, enjoy! and sorry for my english, my beta have been busy so if you find any miss spelling or grammatical error please just let me know, okay? Thanks for reading!

* * *

**Chapter 7 : A Painful Dream**

The straw hats and their two guides followed the rough stone stairs, descending into the depth of the earth. The stairs ended on a large room with a big wooden barrel in the middle of it. There were torches hanged on the walls, filling the room with its bright yellow lights and of burning oil scent. There were old wood benches on the two sides of the wall and there were three figures sitting on one of the bench. The three stood immediately as they saw the groups stepping down the last stair and came forward hurriedly.

"Grand advisor Mahemi! We've been waiting for your return." The huge man said. He looked relief. He was so big and wore white furry robes along with strange hat that the crew thought he was a bear before they heard him spoke.

"Chief Carnel, you worried too much." Mahemi chuckled slightly at him, looked tired from the long journey.

"So this is the kids you're talking about earlier." Chief Carnel's small round eyes shifted to the straw hats. "Hail strangers, I am Chief Carnel and this is my two advisors." The old man and the young woman nodded their heads slightly and smiled at them. "We have heard your trouble and we will try our best to help you. Please, have some drink first. You must be tired from the journey." He waved his hands to the huge water barrel with a faucet in it.

"Thanks, Chief!" Luffy exclaimed happily, approaching the barrel, opened the faucet, and drank from it. The others soon followed (using their hands as a cup of course, unlike a certain straw hat boy). The water was cold and refreshing their exhausted bodies. The Chief smiled, letting the thirsty travelers gulped the water until they all got enough of it.

"Come, follow me." The Chief turn around and walked to the narrow stone corridor in front of them. The others followed him obediently. The corridor widened the more they walked farther and soon they could see intersection that led to the row of doors and another intersections on each end of the corridor.

"Wow, so this is how it looks like in the underground village…" Sanji commented.

"It's like in the tunnels!" Luffy added. The pirates were staring at the surrounding eagerly.

"It is! The buildings were all connected to the corridors, and therefore connected to each other. Just like a mole hole!" The Chief said cheerfully. His energetic and cheerful nature reminded the crew of a rodent, a large one.

"Brilliant! So the villagers can move around and gathers easily! I like this village!" Usopp said.

They were being led through corridors and stopped in front of a row of wooden doors. The Chief opened one of the doors and let them in. Inside, there were beds, bathroom, and a cough with small table. Just like in a motel room. "You can rest here; there are four beds for each of you boys. I'm sorry I can't offer you much, but this room is warm and clean."

"Well, that's good enough for us. We're pirates anyway." Sanji said.

"And as for the girls…" The chief was being interrupted by Sava.

"They can sleep in our house, we have two spare beds! Right Oba-san?" The young girl looked at her grandma hopefully.

"Of course, my dear." Came the reply. The old woman chuckled, knowing that her granddaughter was so excited to meet new friends because she hasn't had a lot of change meeting friends around the same age as her. "but you must ask their agreement first, Sava."

"We'd love to!" Nami said politely. Robin also nodded.

"Great! Follow me, girls!" Sava said while leading Nami and Robin through the corridor.

"Rest well, you've gone through long and tiring journey. We'll serve dinner at 7 and tomorrow we'll begin the ritual in the village hall. You'll need your stamina later."The old woman told them.

* * *

Everyone had already sleeping when Sanji headed to his bed in the corner of the room. He lied on his bed and closed his tired eyes, but he couldn't sleep. He turned around and shifted his body to get comfy, but still can't sleep. Finally he turned again facing the ceiling and stared at it blankly. Why can't he sleep? It was supposed to be easy since his body was exhausted from the recent journey and he was supposed to take a rest for another journey. A dangerous one the crew must take for the stupid marimo head's sake. It was his entire fault to be such a weakling he was easily being kidnapped by the demon. What a joke! The ex-pirate hunter who was called demon by some was being kidnapped by a demon? What can be sillier than that? Did he do it in purpose to annoy everyone? Well, maybe it didn't work on Luffy and the others, but it definitely worked on the cook! For some reasons the shitty swordsman always knows how to push him over the edge! Damn him! Damn his annoying cocky grin, his weird green hair, his stupid earrings, and … and his three swords perched forever in his waist… his waist looked better without it anyway, and even better without that old fashioned haramaki! That thing had no use at all, it only concealed his appealing asset. He was lucky he got a good-looking face to save him from terrible sense of style. Wait! D-Did he just think Zoro's _attractive_?! What the- what was he thinking? He _likes_ women! Okay, maybe he had had some erotic dreams toward the same gender, but it only involved Zoro. And the swordsman was too hot for anyone to resist so it's not entirely his fault. Besides, Zoro seems not attracted to female so that makes him not counted as man, right? In short, Sanji's not gay! The blonde satisfied by his conclusion and finally went to sleep. He had had the same worries so many times before, but he always refused to accept the harsh fact and concealed himself in the safe veil of denial.

"Hey, wake up!" Sanji awoke from his brief dream upon hearing a voice. "Huh?" he grunted. "I said, WAKE UP!" The voice kept bothering him. The cook opened his eyes and stared at Luffy. "What the fuck Luffy! I was just having a nice short nap!" He barked at him. "There's something you need to see. Come on, I'll show you!" The captain said and rushed through the door. "What? Hey wait a second!" Sanji yelled while getting off the bed and cursed at the blanket stumbling his feet. The monkey boy was already running half the corridor length when Sanji shouted at him from the door. "Wait for me, idiot!" Luffy turned around and waited him for a moment to catch up. "What is it?" The cook demanded an explanation. "No time to explain! Hurry, follow me!" the energetic boy started running again and turned right. "Hey!" The cook hated it when his captain was acting this way.

The cook rushed to the same direction and caught a glimpse of his captain's red vest heading left on the next intersection. "How could I possibly follow you if you run TOO FAST?" He continued yelling at him. Sanji lost him right after turning left. "Where are you?" the cook stopped to catch his breath. "Here! Quick!" Luffy's voice echoed on the stone corridors. "I lost you, moron!" He yelled back and waited for the reply. Luffy shouted something from the distance but the echoes made the cook failed to catch his words. "WHAT? Can't hear you!" he replied and heard his own voice echoed.

"Shit-head!" He sighed and looked at the intersection ahead of him. The corridor was much longer than the last one he took. He decided to go straight so he wouldn't stray too far in case Luffy took right or left turn. "Oi, Luffy!" He yelled once more but there was no answer. He was on his own now. There was another intersection in front of him and he was considering whether he should go straight again or take a left/right turn. Suddenly he heard footsteps from the right and stopped to listen carefully. It might be one of the villagers he could ask for help so he ran after it. He saw a shadow moving to the opposite direction. "Excuse me, may I ask you something?" the cook asked. The shadow kept walking, apparently didn't hear him. "Excuse me." The cook repeated while walking hurriedly toward the shadow but the other person still couldn't hear him and continued walking away. "Hey!" Sanji quickened his pace then took the same turn as the shadow and ended in a large chamber with no lights. The cook fetched the nearest hanging torch and stepping into the darkness. "Hello? Anybody here?" The cook turned when he heard something was moving on his left, he lifted the torch toward the direction. "Hello?" he called. He heard it again. Soft dragging voices and breathes. Sanji move closer and held his breath as he saw two lovers were doing inappropriate thing on the floor, half naked. The blonde was about to mumbled a quick apology and turned away when he realized one of them oddly had a familiar green hair. He looked back to identify the couple's faces and his eyes almost popped out as the man with green hair turned out to be the swordsman of the straw hat crew. A stinging pain suddenly hit his chest, he didn't know why, but it pissed him off. "WHAT THE HELL?" He barked at the man. "We thought you were being _kidnapped_, asshole! You'll pay for making Nami and Robin worried so much!" His anger doubled by the thought that he even more anxious about Zoro than anyone else on the crew. The unknown raven haired man saw him indifferently for a moment while his friend didn't even bother to look at him. "ANSWER ME, you son of a bitch!!" Sanji had the urge to kill his green haired friend and the guy on top of him but then he sensed there's something terribly wrong. The swordsman didn't kiss back while the other continued kissing and touching him. He just squirmed a little and let out low moans in return. Low painful moans. His heart beat almost stopped as he realized what's going on. There was a pool of blood staining the dark floor around the swordsman and he didn't dare to guess what horrible things had been done to him. The now smirked man was the demon who kidnapped Zoro, and for an unknown reason he brought the swordsman here and molest him in front of the cook. His blood was boiling from watching the green haired man miserably lied there defenseless.

"Get your hands off him you foul creature!" He yelled dangerously.

The said man looked at him and grinned. "Well, well … it must be none other than the famous Sanji."

"So you're the 'men-kidnapping demon' they're talking about, I thought you would be much taller and bigger than this." The blonde said sinisterly.

"Really? I could be, but I don't have any desire to scare you off right now. I'm just curious to meet you on person after your friend here had done me a great favor for your sake."

"What? What are you talking about?" Sanji's eyes shifted to his green haired friend lying across the floor.

"He agreed a contract with me to save you from tragic death, such a tough decision to make for a proud man like him." Baalbisan gave a fake sympathetic face to the swordsman.

"What contract? … what tragic death?"

"I tricked him into believing that I will slit your throat if he didn't agree being my mate. A man like him would never give his honor even if he was being tortured to death, unless … I threatened to harm a person he cared. Or should I say the person he loved? … I was amused how easy it was. He'll do anything to save you. He had been so cooperative during the process too, though I doubted he would be _that_ willing if I wasn't disguised as you." The demon grinned a mischievous grin.

"YOU DID _WHAT_?!"

"Now now, I know you're jealous. But at least he _thought_ he was doing it with you."

"Shut up!! _Why me_? Why didn't you choose somebody else?" Anger and shame were evident in the blonde's face.

"Well, I wasn't watching him for nothing. In fact, it surprised me you didn't notice the way he looked or acted towards you. He tried so hard to deny it that any fool would have realized something's going on, that, of course if the person didn't go on the same self denial." Baalbisan glared knowingly at the cook. "That disgusting mortal feeling always sickens me." He murmured in disgust. Sanji didn't respond to the mockery; he was trying to digest all the information given and struggling to decide whether he should trust him or not. It would be very wrong to trust a sly creature such as him, he could just twist all the fact, or even made those up… but for what? What did those lies done any good for him aside playing around with the cook's feelings? Did he just want to make him feel guilty and pissed? Why?

The demon chuckled; his foot kicked Zoro lightly on the stomach. "Mankind is truly pathetic." He said. The green haired man was just groaned a little and coughed dark blood from his mouth. He even couldn't move his hand fast enough to lessen the attack. Sanji couldn't take it anymore, watching the swordsman being treated as if he was just a bag of trash. Zoro was never the one asking for help, he never needed to be saved; he was a prominent fighter after all, not that the cook would ever admit it. The blonde never thought he would watch him so defenseless and vulnerable and his current condition clearly broke the cook's heart. Knowing that he was the one causing it hurt him even more.

"Well, I'd like to stay and chat a bit longer, but unfortunately our time is up. Come my little slave, we had other things to do." The demon suddenly turned, pulled the swordsman by the wrist and carelessly dragging his limp body across the floor, leaving the dark trail of blood.

"Wait!" He ran after the two figures but either because the demon was too fast or he's too slow, he couldn't catch up the leaving figures until they disappeared into the darkness. "ZOROOO!!" He cried. He lost his torch in the way but he kept running to the darkness until he lost his stepping and fell to the bottomless shadows.

Sanji woke up from his sleep, sweating and panting. Three faces were watching him worriedly as they gathered around his bed. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper looked at him while the blonde looked back, still dazed and confused in an attempt to separate the dream from reality.

"Are you okay Sanji? It seems you had a horrible nightmare." Chopper started.

"… yeah, I'm fine." The cook sighed, extremely relieved knowing that it was just a dream.

"Well then, you better have a shower and get ready for dinner. It's almost seven." Usopp informed him.

The cook nodded, got off his bed and slowly headed to the bathroom after he fetched a towel, trying to look as normal as possible. Their voices could vaguely be heard from behind the bathroom wall, so he listened carefully to find out if they noticed anything unusual about him.

"He looked so sad..." Said a little voice, definitely belonged to the little reindeer. Shit! They know it.

"Yeah … but I think he's gonna be okay, right Luffy? Eh, what is it?" The sniper asked. His question raised the blonde's curiosity, and leaned closer to the wall. The straw hat boy hadn't said anything yet, and it was rare to come across the silent Luffy.

"Well, I was just thinking; … it's strange to hear him called Zoro by his name." Came the innocent reply.

Sanji almost tripped by his own foot. He screamed his name while sleeping? Did he say it out loud? Damn, this is so embarrassing! He hoped he didn't sound as hopeless and desperate as he actually did in the dream. The blonde's face went crimson red in embarrassment and fury. How come a dream had a strong influence over his mood? It's just a dream, God damn it! His heart was still aching as the scenes came flashing back before his waking eyes with every single spoken word. He had to admit that if he woke up alone in the room he would've cried. Oh yes, he would definitely cried. He shook his head forcefully and kept telling himself that it was just a dream thus he didn't have a reason to cry for. He then cupped his hands below the running faucet and poured his face with the water over and over again, washing his warm flowing tears with the freezing water.

"_I'm sorry Zoro... I'm so sorry …"_


End file.
